Cuban-Born Lawmaker Says Venezuelan Elections Must Happen Within Months

In the aftermath of the extraordinary military operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, questions now turn to the future governance of the troubled South American nation and the timeline for restoring democratic rule to its people.

Representative Carlos Gimenez of Florida, the only Cuban-born member of Congress, has issued a clear warning against allowing the transition period to extend indefinitely. Speaking after Maduro and his wife Celia Flores entered not guilty pleas to drug trafficking and weapons charges in their first New York court appearance, Gimenez emphasized that new elections must occur within months, not years.

“It can’t be years, I’ll tell you that right now,” Gimenez stated. “This is what these regimes do, they just negotiate for time, try to wait you out, so you weaken your will. So it can’t be — I’m talking months, I am not talking years.”

The congressman’s perspective carries particular weight given his personal history. Having fled communist Cuba as a child and settled in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, Gimenez represents a district home to a significant Venezuelan refugee population. His constituency understands intimately the consequences of failed socialist governance and prolonged political instability.

Maduro was transported to the United States by military aircraft following strikes on Caracas and now faces terrorism charges brought by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. President Donald Trump has indicated the United States would “run” Venezuela until the country can conduct fair democratic elections.

Gimenez, who was among the first members of Congress to speak with Secretary of State Marco Rubio following the operation, stressed the urgency of visible progress. “Now the number of months, you know, I don’t know what the number would be, but certainly not years,” he said. “And the people inside Venezuela need to see changes happening pretty quickly. People out here that live in the diaspora need to see that also.”

The situation presents both opportunity and peril. Venezuela, once among South America’s most prosperous nations, has been devastated by decades of socialist mismanagement. Millions of Venezuelans have fled the country, creating a substantial diaspora throughout the Americas. According to Gimenez, these millions are “waiting to go back home.”

The challenge facing American policymakers is substantial. Venezuela requires not merely a change in leadership but a comprehensive reconstruction of its democratic institutions, which have been systematically dismantled over years of authoritarian rule. The country’s oil infrastructure, once the envy of the region, lies in disrepair. Its economy has collapsed, and its people have suffered unprecedented hardship.

Yet Gimenez’s caution against delay reflects a hard-learned lesson from observing communist regimes throughout Latin America. Prolonged transitions can become permanent occupations. Temporary measures can calcify into lasting arrangements. The will of the international community can weaken as attention shifts to other crises.

The congressman’s insistence on a swift timeline represents more than political calculation. It reflects an understanding that the Venezuelan people, having endured so much, deserve to see tangible progress toward self-governance. The diaspora, having maintained hope through years of exile, needs assurance that their homeland will be restored to them.

And that is the way it is.